The Northern Territory Council of Social Service is calling for the urgent introduction of mandatory minimum energy efficiency standards for properties after a new report found renters are enduring dangerously hot conditions.
The current wet season has brought indoor conditions that are virtually unbearable, Better Renting’s Cruel Summers report has found.
The NT was the hottest jurisdiction indoors for renters during one of the hottest summers on record around Australia from December 2023 to February 2024.
Median overnight indoor temperatures were 29.3°C.
The NT was above 30°C the most: 35.7% or more than eight hours a day.
Most of the states and territories have adopted National Construction Code 7 Star Energy Efficiency standards but the NT has not.
NT houses continue to be built to lower energy efficiency standards, significantly impacting health and well-being, and preventing renters to be able to afford to cool their homes.
“Many households in the NT struggle to keep their housing at a comfortable and healthy temperature that that keeps them safe, happy and healthy,” NTCOSS acting CEO Caitlin Perry said.
“Many people experiencing financial stress and disadvantage cannot afford to cool their homes or must go without food or medical care to pay their energy bills due to extreme weather.”
The Cruel Summers report is based on the Renter Researchers project involving more than 100 renting households that tracked the temperatures in their homes, along with their experiences of the heat and how they managed it.
The project routinely saw indoor temperatures above 40°C, including a renter in SA who recorded a temperature of 45.3°C. Read the full report here.
The ACOSS/First Nations Clean Energy Network second annual Heat Report this month reported a majority of 1000-plus renting households surveyed said the high temperatures in their homes made them unwell and they were finding it increasingly difficult to pay their energy bills.
ACOSS and NTCOSS urge governments to invest further in shade, insulation, air tightness and upgrades to the building fabric alongside rooftop solar, installation of efficient A/C equipment and to incentivise minimum energy efficiency rental standards, implement stronger rental rights and raise the rate of JobSeeker and related payments. Read the ACOSS report.
Contact Greg Roberts 0429 515 013 or media@ntcoss.org.au